Digging and disintegrating machine for lump solids



A. STAUFFER 2,751,830

3 Sheets-Sheet l kNY.

June 26, 1956 DIGGING AND DISINTEGRATING MACHINE FOR LUMP SOLIDS Filed April 11, 1951 ...11g-Li, Ji

A. STAUFFER June 26, 1956 DIGGING AND DISINTEGRATING MACHINE FOR LUMP SOLIDS 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 11 1951 INVENTOR S3 BY gw@ ATTORNEYS A. sTAUFFl-:R 2,751,830

3 Sheets-Sheet 3 June 26, 1956 DIGGING AND DISINTEGRATING MACHINE FOR LUMP soLIDs Filed April 11. 1951 Unitecl States Vlrat 2,751,836 Patented June 2,6, 19.56

[All

DIGGING AND DISENTEGRATING MACHINE FOR LUlVIP SGLES Alfred Stauler, Honey'Brook, Pa., assignorto Lukens Steel Company, Coatesville, Pa., a corporation of-Penn- Sylvania Application April 11,1951, Serial. No.:.220,373

2 Claims. (Cl. 97410) This invention relates'toequipment for disintegrating lump solids and is particularly concerned with a-mobile unit adapted to travel from place to place and Vespecially adapted to directly dig up solids-containing earth, for instance the soil of cultivated lands, for the purpose of disintegrating stones or lumprock in such soil.

Equipment of this general kind is shown in my prior application, Sen'al No. 110,699, led August 17, 1949, and issued April 20, 1954 as Patent No. 2,675,969, upon which the present invention is an improvement.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a machine of this kind as a mobile unit carrying both the stone disintegrating apparatus and also'the earth-digging and conveyor or feed mechanism by which the `stones Vare delivered'to the disintegrator.

in such an integrated mobile unit, special lproblems arise with respect to weight 'distribution andthe handling of the forces and loads incident to digging of the earth, and the arrangement of the present invention takes these factors into account ina novel manner to be explained more fully hereinafter.

in general, mobile unit of the invention comprises a frame structure with pairs of supporting wheels at Vthe forward and rear ends thereof. "The disintegrating equipment is disposed adjacent to the rear wheels and the digging and feeding conveyorV is located with its discharge end adjacent to the distintegrator and with its diggingY end adjacent to the opposite end of the'unit. Since the digging action exerts a substantial load in the downward direction at the forward end of the unit, the invention contemplates locating the engine Yfor driving the disintegrator at the rear end of the units, i. e., adjacent to 4the disintegrator itself, so that the major portion of the weight of both the disintegrator and the engine is carried by the wheels at the rear end and is thus not imposed on the front wheels, the latter thereby being relieved of most or' the loads except for a portion of the weightzof conveyor parts and the load incident to digging.

The power drives of the disintegrator, on rthe one' hand, and or" the digging conveyor, on the other' hand, are-arranged through separate transmissions. In fact, inthe preferred arrangement the engine at the rear serves only to drive the disintegrator and 'theconveyor power is derived advantageously by the extension of a flexible power shaft forwardly of the unit, which shaft is adapted to beV coupled with a power source external of the unit, for instance on a tractor :by means Yof which Vthe unit is transported.

vIn accordance with another aspect of 1 the ,invention mechanism is providedv for raisingand .lowering the digging or receiving end of theconveyorewith reference to the frame of the unit, this mechanism comprising atwoposition power device, having Vone positioncorresponding to the digging position of the receiving end of the conveyor, and the other position corresponding tothe traveling position .of the unit in which the receiving end ofthe conveyor is raised above the ground level.

In association with this two-position conveyor adv2 jnsting mechanism, provision is Vmade for vertical radjustment of the front-wheels'ofthe unit with reference to the frame in relatively `ne increments,'whereby to enable ne regulation of the digging depth.

The invention Vstill further contemplates special arrangements in the mounting ofthe conveyonincluding a spring suspension serving to relieve the vertical adjusting mechanism of a portion of the load or weightof thedigging end of the conveyor. Otherffeatures of importance in the mounting of lthe conveyor include a-,horizontal pivot located near therear or Vdischarge endof'the conveyor, but preferably spaced somewhat from the extreme discharge end, at whichthe 4power drive for operating the conveyor is connectedtothe moving conveyorele'- ments. "Considerable simpliticationiof structure and lother advantages relating, for eXample,-to lservice and maintenance problems, is thereby ,ai0rded, as will further appear.

Still another feature of importance in connectionwith the mounting of the conveyor' on the unit is the Vprovision of vertical guides which are disposed intermediate the horizontal conveyor pivot and the digging endthereof, in order to prevent undesired lateral distortion of'the conveyor which might otherwise occur when onesidepedge or the other of the-digging -end encounters an obstacle during digging.

in addition to thevforegoing'the invention'also contemplates the provision of means for breaking-up'or disintegrating earth lumps 'dug upby the conveyor'` prior to the 'delivery 'thereof to 'the disintegrator. As `will further appear, this mechanism`- is advantageously arranged intermediate the ends of the conveyor, in such -mannerfas to disintegrate earth' lumps and eiect separation' of the earth from the stones or other solids` prior to discharge thereof to the 'disintegrator itself. i

'In considering another aspect of the invention, itis-tiret pointed out that the conveyor is ma'de up of spaced conveyorelements through which materials osm'all'size'may readily drop and return tofthe ground. However, with such construc`tion,`rom time to tinfie'stonesmay become caught'between the spaced elements ofthe conveyor in a manner preventing them frombeingdischargedinto the disintegrator. VSuch stones would again'be carried yback to the receiving `end Vofthe conveyor and :might cause damage to parts oi the machine. With this in mind the invention',contemplates-provision of means for dislodging such stones from between conveyorelements inthe region of discharge to the"disi`nte'grator.

How the foregoing and other objects and advantages are Vattained vwill -appear'more Yfully from the'. following description ofthe accompanying'drawings, in 'which- Figurel is-a side elevationalview of mobileema'chine constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Figure' 2 is a planview to an enlargedrscale of a portion or the machine, particularly Villustrating'the conveyor;

Figure 3 is a rear elevational-view of 'the machine'on the same scale as Figure 1;

Figure '4 is: a horizontal sectional view takenv substantially as indicated by the line 4 4 on Figure 1but to an-enlarge scale;

Figure 5 is a view on the scale of ,Figure 4 butl illustrating certaindetails; and

Figure '-is a verticalsectionalview ofone ofthe front wheel supports'takemasgindicated'eby the line 6-'6 on Figure 1.

`In considering Vthe structure and 'operation A of the equipment of thisinvention, it is iirst to 'be noted that the machine'is usable yin a variety of dilerent-.ways'and for a variety o'f diflerent'purposes. For -eXample,: afwide variety of solid materials maybe fed to the machine for' purposes of disintegration, such'as crushed` rock, ores, and mixtures-of materiais of different consistency, in-

cluding, for example, earth-like materials containing more or less solid lumps.

Many features of the machine are especially adapted to a mobile unit adapted to be transported overrcultivated lands for the` purpose of picking up the soil, separating the rocks from the soil, returning the soil to the ground, and disintegrating the rocks and thereafter returning the rockv powder or particles to the ground. features of the equipment are especially adaptable to this latter purpose the invention is Ydescribed hereinafter in that association.

The mobile disintegrator unit of my invention corn- Vprises in general, frame structure A, rear supporting wheels B, front caster wheels C, disintegrator equipment DV disposed adjacent the rear wheel B for disintegrating solid materials such as rocks which are fed to the disintegrator, an engine E for driving the disintegrator D located adjacent thereto, earth digging and conveyor mechanism F for delivering the solid materials to the disintegrator, flexible drive shafting G for driving the conveyor mechanism having flexible connection with and receiving drive from an engine on a tractor to which the mobile unit is coupled, and power lift means H for moving the conveyor mechanism F from a digging position to a non-digging or raised traveling position above the ground level. y V j The frame structure A Vcomprises longitudinally extending side frame members 7, 7 spaced laterally apart a distance to accommodate the conveyor and disintegrator mechanirns therebetween, a front cross member 8 having extended end portions 9 curved rearwardly and terminating in sockets 10 inrwhich the Shanks 11 of the caster wheels C are swiveled. The framey also includes a rear cross member 12, and an intermediate cross member 13.

The disintegrator equipment D comprises a disintegrating impeller 14 having its shaft 15 extending in a direction lengthwise of the machine and rotatably mounted in bearing 16, 16 carried by the cross members 12'and 13 of the frame, a feeding impeller 17 mounted adjacent the disintegrating irnpellerv14 for rotation about an axis inclined from the vertical to direct solid materials to the disintegrating impeller, housing 18 for the disintegrating impeller supported on the frame, and housing 19 for the feeding impeller supported from the frame by means of bracket structurer20.

The rear supporting wheels B are mounted on an axle 21 located at the rear end portion of the frame structure A and supported therefrom by means of axle supports 22, it being noted that the disintegrating and feeding impeller mechanisms are located adjacent the rear axle so that the Weight thereof is carried at the rear portion of the mobile unit by the rear wheels. f Y

The engine E for driving the disintegrating impeller andthe associated feeding impeller is mounted generally vertically thereabove on a platform 23 suitably supported from the frame as by means of hood structure 24. Thus, the weight of the engine as well as the weight of the associated disintegrating equipment is carried in large part by the rear wheels B. Y

The disintegrating impeller 14 is driven from the engine E by means of belt drive 25 and the feeding impeller 17 is driven from the impeller 14 by means of belt drive 26. The feeding impeller 17 is driven at a lower speed than the disintegrating impeller 14 as by means of suitable reduction gearing (not shown) connected from the driven shaft 27 of the belt drive 26 to the feeding impeller shaft 28 and located in agear housing 29,. The use of friction belt drives at some point in the drive transmission for the impellers is'of advantage because of the cushioning action thereby introduced into the drive system. In consequence, particularly severe loads or blows experienced by the impellers are not as likely to damage the Vdrive transmissions, as would be the case where gearing and shafting comprise the entire transmission system.

The earth digging and conveyor mechanism FV com- Since most prises a conveyor chain 30, laterally spaced drive sprockets 31 at one end of the conveyor chain mounted on a drive shaft 32 extending crosswise of the unitY and journaled at one end in a bearing 33 supported on the mainframe member 7, the shaft being supported at its other end in a bearing 34 of the gear housing 35 supported from the main frame a bracket 36. The conveyor has upright plate members 37 constituting side walls for the conveyor, chain guide rollers 38 at the other end of the conveyor rotatably mounted on stub shafts` 39 carried by the side rnembersr37 and a plurality of other spaced chain guide rollers 40 and 41 carried by theside members. The rollers 3S and 40 are of conical shape to provide for sidewise centering of the chain. The links of the conveyor chainrare in the form of cro-ssbars 42 spaced apart a distance such that lump solids of the size to be disintegrated will be conveyed by the chain while permitting dirt and smaller particles to fall orsift lthrough to the'ground.

The conveyor mechanism F is located with its discharge end toward the rear of the unit adjacent the disintegrator D, and with its digging or receiving end at the front of the unit adjacent the front Wheels E; and the conveyor is mounted with freedom for vertical swinging movement of the digging end by means of a horizontal pivot or shaft i3 offset forwardly from the conveyor drive shaft 32. This shaft 43 is mounted in (supports 4d, 44 carried by the main side frame members 7, 7 of the unit.

It is pointed out that by having the pivot 43 in amounting independent of the mounting of the conveyor drive shaft 32, assembly of the unit is simplified and service and maintenance costs are reduced. For example, in the event of failure such as would necessitate removal of the rive shaft 32 or ofthe sprockets 31 these parts can be removed and replaced without disturbing the mounting of the pivoted structure, which would not bethe case if this structure were pivoted on the chain drive shaft, because removal of the shaft would leave the pivoted structure Without support. It is Aaiso to be observed that with my arrangement when the drive shaft is removed the conveyor chain is still supported by the pivoted structure and this simplifies re-assembly of the chain on the sprockets.

The flexible drive shafting G for driving the conveyor comprises a universal shaft 45 having driving connection with the engine of aV tractor by which the unit is propelled, abelt drive 46 connecting the shaft 45 with a rearwardly extending shaft 47 located at the side of the conveyor and supported from the main frame of the unit, and gearing ,48 connecting the shaft 47 with the conveyor drive shaft 32.

The power lift means H for controlling the vertical swinging movement of the conveyor mechanism comprisesa two-position gear Vdevice 49, a crank 50 rotated by the gear device 49 (see Figure 4') a manually operable trip bar 51 for controlling the gear device, a drive motor 52, and a switch 53 associated with'the trip bar for controlling the motor S2. The gear device 49 includes a driven gear 54 secured on a shaft 55, bearings 56, 56 for the shaft provided in a housing 57 secured to a mounting bracket 58 carried by the cross member S of the main frame. A driving gear 59 on the shaft of the motor 52 meshes with the driven gear 54, and a positioning disc 60 having a pair of opposed stop notches 61, 61 is enf gageable by a stop rod 62 to effect step rotation of the gear 54.

The crank 50 is adjustably' secured to the disc 60fby means of screws 63 and arcuate slots 64 so that-the posi- @gennaro Ateeth-atv 67 which engagethe-teeth of 'thegear554 when the bar is in its normal position as `shown in-Figure 4.V

The power lift means VH is. connected :to the. conveyor mechanism F by means of linkage comprisinga bellcrank 68, one arm 69 of which is connected to the crank 50 by a link 70 and the other-arms 71,"71of'whi'ch are connected to the ends 72, v72. of semi-ellipticV springs 73-73. The ends 72, 72 of the springs 73 are shackled to the side members 37, 37 'of'the'conveyor at 74,74 andthe other ends 75, 75 of 'the springs lare shackled to the mainframe members r7, 7 at 75, 76. 'These springs in addition to providing vertical cushioning'atthe front portion' ofthe machine also provide partialnnloadingof thepower lift means H which isparticularly'usefnl during raising movement of the conveyor.

Assuming now'that'the conveyor F is in the full-line position of Figure 1, i. e., in Vitsraised traveling position clear of the ground, andthat it is desired to lower it into its digging andrfeeding position indicated indot-anddash lines at i7 in Figure l'(in which positionthe plow members -78 provided atthe lowerffront portionot` the conveyor will dig into the ground), the operator, pulls on the cable 79 attachedto thetrip bar'Si to disengage its teeth 67 from the gear-S4 and to simultaneously withdraw the stop rod 62cm of the stop notch-62!` and close the switch 53. Themotor thencauses rotation of thel gear :'54, and the trip'bar, after beingreleased, causes 'the stop rod o2 to ride on the peripheral face of the notched disc 6% until it has made one-half revolution holding the teeth of the trip bar out of engagement with the gear 54. At the end or this one-half revolution the rod 62 drops into the disc notch and the bar teeth 67 engage the gear S to hold the device in this position. As the above takes place the crank is rotated one-half revolution to assume a position 180 from the position shown in Figure l, and the bellcrank is rocked to move the conveyor down into the lowered position shown in dot-anddash lines in Figure 1. ln order to raise the conveyor into its upper position again, the above operation is repeated, it being noted that the semi-elliptical springs 73 act to relieve the lift device of a portion of the load or weight of the digging end of the conveyor in this upward lift.

As the unit travels along with the conveyor in its downwardly inclined or digging position the plow member dig up the ground, and the earth with its solids is picked up by the conveyor and as' it is fed up the incline loose earth and the smaller particles sift through the conveyor and the large solids are fed along and are delivered at the discharge end of the conveyor to the inclined feed impeller. The feeder impeller throws the lump solids into the disintegrating impeller in the manner more fully shown in my copending application above identied. After disintegration the particles are discharged to the ground through a discharge opening in the event that earth lumps such as clods of sod or wet soil are dug up and carried along by the conveyor I provide mechanism for breaking up such lumps prior to the delivery thereof to the disintegrator. This mechanisrn takes the form of upwardly displaceable breaker elements 31 located intermediate the receiving and discharge ends of the conveyor. The breaker elements 81 are constructed of heavy plates 82 having their rear ends curved upwardly and pivoted at their front ends for free winging movement on a pivot rod 83 extending crosswise of the conveyor and secured in the side guide plates 37. As will be seen from Figure 2 I have provided two such elements pivoted on the rod 83 for independent swinging. In operation these breaker elements jog up and down rather violently and thus break up the clods or lumps underneath them. As a further aid in breaking up these lumps the top of the elements are constructed in the form of boxes 84 which may be filled with rocks to add weight to the elements.

In order to prevent damage to the conveyor chain when theA mobile .unit'is being transported'fronrplace to place with the conveyor idle in raised traveling position, I prefer to support the breaker elements 81 in a position above the chain as indicated in dot-and-dash lines in Figure 1. This is :accomplished by -iirst removing kthe cross brace rod 85, then swinging the breaker elements upwardly and then replacing the brace rod and allowing the breaker elements` to rest thereon.

As hasbeenI pointedout above the conveyor is made up of barsspaced apart adistance such thatsolids of large size will be conveyed, while permitting materials of smallersize to fall through to the ground. I- have found that with such constructionstones are caught between the bars from time to time and without provision to the contrary the Acaught stones instead of being discharged to the disintegrator equipment are carried around by the conveyor toward the receiving'end thereof, with the possibility of incurring damageto the machine. Forexample a caught rock carried around at the discharge end ofthe conveyor could damage the adjacent portion .of the housing'19 of the impel1er'17, and one carried around at the-receiving end could damage the plow structure or cause breakage ofthechain. Also should a large number of rocks be caught in the conveyor clogging would result. v

VI havexovercome suchdifculties by providing a plate beneath'the conveyor'barsat the discharge end of the conveyor for-.dislodging-.caught stones from the conveyor. Preferably this plate is curved to the form of a cylinder 86 extending between the spaced drive sprockets 3l of the conveyor and of a diameter approaching the root diameter of the sprocket teeth. Thus as the caught rocks engage the surface of the cylinder they are forced out from between the bars and discharged to the disintegratOI'.

Reverting now to the mounting of the engine E and the disintegrator equipment D adjacent the rear wheels B, it is pointed out that since the digging action of the conveyor exerts a substantial load in a downward direction at the forward end of the unit such rear mounting of the engine and disintegrator equipment is of importance because the major portion of their weight is thus carried by the rear wheels and therefore is not imposed on the front wheels. Consequently the front wheels are relieved of most of the loads except for a portion of the weight of conveyor parts and the load incident to digging.

In order to position the conveyor laterally with respect to the main frame I provide, in addition to the normal lateral positioning eiect of the springs 73, lateral positioning members 87 at a point intermediate the conveyor pivot and the digging end thereof, These members are preferably associated with the spring saddle supports and extend laterally inwardly therefrom to engage the side plates 37 for the conveyor and thereby laterally position it. Through this arrangement I prevent undesired lateral i distortion of the conveyor which might otherwise occur when one side edge or the other of the plows 7S encounter obstacles during digging.

If it is desired to alter the depth of dig of the conveyor this can be accomplished by vertical adjustment of the caster wheels C as by means of adjusting screws 83 car ried by the sockets 1G and nut 89 secured in the Shanks 11 of the caster wheels, as will be clear from inspection of Figure 6.

l claim:

1. In a mobile unit for disintegrating hard lump solids, a disintegrating device mounted on the unit adjacent an end thereof, a digging conveyor having its digging end positioned adjacent the other end of the unit and having its discharge end positioned to deliver lump solids to the disintegrating device, a horizontal pivot for mounting the conveyor on the unit with freedom for vertical swinging movement of the digging end of the conveyor, a leaf spring shackled at one en d to the digging conveyor adja cent the digging end thereof and shackled at the saddle and other end to the unit, said spring extending from the region of the diggingend of the conveyor toward the discharge end thereof, a bellcrank mounted on the unit, a link interconnecting one arm of said bellcrank and said one end of the spring, power operated mechanism mounted on the unit for vertically moving the digging end of the conveyor, and a link interconnecting the other arm of said bellcrank and the power operated mechanlsm. Y v

2. In a moble unit for disintegrating hard lump solids, a disintegrating impeller mounted on said'unit toward one end thereof, a Ydigging conveyor comprising a frame structure associated with earth-digging and feed mechanism, said conveyor having its digging end positioned adjacent the other end of the unit and having its discharge end positioned to deliver lump solids to the disintegrating device, saidV feed mechanism having spaced conveyorelements mounted to travel in Va closed circuit deliningaV Y belt-like path, horizontal pivot means for mounting the conveyor frame structure on the unit, drive means for the conveyor elements mounted on a shaft journalled in said unit beyond the end of the frame structure and adjacent the discharge end of the conveyor, said pivot being located intermediate said drive means and the digging end of the conveyor, said elements being movable in a flight from the digging end of the conveyor past the frame structure of the conveyor and over said drive means, whereby said conveyor is free for vertical swinging movement about said pivot while maintaining the elements in said flight in engagement with said driving means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 593,040 Adel et al Nov. 2, 1897 971,990 Grantham Oct. 4,V 1910 1,018,513 Meyer Feb. 27, 1912 1,044,860 Cole Nov. 19, 1912 1,063,250 Felt June 13, 1913 1,245,252 McGregor Nov. 6, 1917 1,494,458 Campbell May 20, 1924 1,632,451 Pitcher June 14, 1927 1,854,261 Irwin Apr. 19, 1932 1,857,726 Lindgren May 10, 1932 1,906,127 Reishus Apr. 25, 1933 2,198,427 Templeton Apr. 23, 1940 2,208,218 Holbrook et al July 16, 1940 2,274,941 Teuscher Mar. 3, 1942 2,302,973 Sargent Nov. 24, 1942 2,401,653 Mohler June 4, 1946 2,453,714 Lapointe Nov. 16, 1948 2,563,926 Elliott Aug. 14, 1951 2,582,872 Krengel Ian. l5, 1952 an www 

